Election: PA State Treasurer

On November 4, we will elect a new state treasurer. The incumbent, Robin L. Weissman, is not running (took over for Bob Casey when he won his Senate seat). The responsibilities of treasurer include investing the tax revenues, paying bills, and managing a budget of 60 million and a staff of 520 people.

Here is some of the information discussed at our last meeting on the major candidates:

Rob McCord (Democrat, age 49)
Montgomery County

Experience:

• Cofounder and Director of Pennsylvania Early Stage Partners
• Cofounder of Eastern Technology Fund
• 10 years working with Budget and Regulatory issues on Capitol Hill, working with notable figures such as Al Gore, Norm Mineta, Bob Edgar, and Tony Coehlo.
• Board Member for United Way of Pennsylvania and United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania

Education:
BA in Economics & History from Harvard University
MBA from UPenn's Wharton School of Business

Self-described objectives as treasurer:

• Cut wasteful spending
• Protect pensions of seniors
• "Attract new innovative business to Pennsylvania to encourage job growth."

Criticism:

Reuters

Tom Ellis (Republican, 49)
Montgomery County

Experience:

• Cheltenham Township Board of Commissioners (1990-2002)
• Montgomery County Board of Commissioners (2003-2006)
• Partner in the Public Finance Department of the law firm Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll (1985-present)

Education
BA in Political Science from University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania's School of Law (editor of its Law Review)

**Issues:

• Cut spending in order to reduce taxes
• Preservation of land (by stopping "urban sprawl") and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
• Public safety

Berlie Etzel (Libertarian, age 77)
Clarion County

Experience:

• 12 years as Math & Science Teacher
• Professor of Math at Cheyney University (1969-1986)
• Assessor of Ashland Township

Education:
BS in Education from Clarion State College
M.Ed from Penn State University

Issues:

• Open books for 'bonusgate' investigations
• Retrieve lost money from PHEAA (see Auditor General blog below)
• Making sure there's a "constitutional basis" for all payments

Rape in the Congo

We have frequently discussed the urgency of the sexual violence epidemic in the Congo. Recently, many organizations, as well as the United Nations, have put forth efforts to prosecute rapists and encourage victims to speak out. As displayed in many parts of the world, both past and present, women often are silenced by family members and shunned by society if they speak out.

Jeffrey Gettleman reports:

Rape Victims' Words Jolt Congo Into Change

PA 2008 Election for Auditor General

At the last meeting, we discussed the upcoming PA election. I researched the Auditor General. Here is my report.

Auditor General – Independent fiscal monitor. In addition to monitoring fiscal matters, the auditor general also looks at the effectiveness and efficiency of laws, government programs, and legislative changes.

2008 Election

Democrat- Jack Wagner, Incumbent. In office since 2005. Jack is pictured above.

Republican – Chet Beiler

Libertarian – Betsy Summers

Beiler, 45, of Lancaster County, is a businessman whose primary enterprise is AmishGazebos.com. Hmm.) He is a fiscal conservative. Beiler criticizes Wagner for not regulating the accuracy of gasoline pumps and taking too long to release his report on PA higher education.

Summers has held the office of PA Judge of the Elections. She believes abortions should always be legal, but not publicly funded in any way. She is for gay marriage and wants to end affirmative action.

Get to know the candidates for Auditor General: http://www.smartvoter.org/2008/11/04/pa/state/race/paau/

Since Wagner is the Incumbent, the most information is available on him. Here is a summary of Wagner’s performance. These reports also give some information on the state of affairs in PA.

Education report from 2007 found:

-schools will not have enough money to cover budget costs in the following year if spending is not adjusted now.

-lack of proper documentation for bus drivers (some drivers did not have a child abuse or criminal background check).

Wagner produced a report about the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources addressing their elimination of life guards in state parks. His report concluded that DCNR should reinstate life guards and provide better signage in the interim. Basically, the DCNR had said that “it’s a trend to not use life guards.” To see the report: http://www.auditorgen.state.pa.us/Department/Info/DCNRBeachesSpecialRpt051408.pdf

Charter Schools - He identified several charter schools that were receiving more funding than necessary for their operations. When a child transfers from a public school to a charter school, the charter school receives funding from the public school for that child. Since the charter school starts out with a base amount of money for operations, if too many kids transfer, the charter school can turn a profit. Wagner said he supports charter schools but encourages Randall to properly monitor their funding so that they do not place unnecessary burden on public schools and taxpayers.

Audited PHEAA for the first time in it’s 45 year history. (Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistant Agency). Uncovered 7.5 million of bonuses given to employees. To see the report: http://www.auditorgen.state.pa.us/Department/Press/WagnerFindsPHEAAGaveMillionsInBonuses.html

Audit of Megan’s law calls for more complete and accurate info to be posted to website. Also, Wagner suggests that increasing the scope of the information on website (adding physical description) will increase the safety that law provides to children. He also points out the need for the state police website to improve organization of the information on the website, so that it is easier to sort through to find the most violet predators (roughly 110 out of the 8,100 listed.)

Mandatory HPV Vaccine for Immigrants

So, more on this topic which I posted about a few weeks ago. I have to admit I haven't read this whole post (I'm in class right now...ha) but it looks like it has a lot of information.

The State Can Violate Women's Bodies if They Want to (via Feminist Law Professors)

P.S. GO PHILLIES!

Connecticut Allows Gay Marriage

Connecticut today joined Massachusetts and California by legalizing gay marriage.

Huffington Post article

MSNBC article

Gender Bias in Fine Dining

Frank Bruni wrote an article in the New York Times investigating sex discrimination in finer New York restaurants. He writes that restaurants regularly participate in gender profiling, assuming women will eat a certain way, are less profitable, and lack the authority or knowledge to choose wine. Many also use an order-tracking software allowing servers to specify which seats "ladies" occupy.

Read the whole article here:

Old Gender Roles With Your Dinner?

What strikes me most is the willingness of women to perpetuate this system, rather than participate in the rejection of male chivalry and power. It's also interesting how "manners" and "etiquette" come into play.

UPDATE: a note on this from Feministing

Salmon with a side of gender stereotyping please

Register to Vote

Pennsylvania's deadline is Monday, October 6th. The following link takes you to Obama's website to register in any state:

Register Here